Liquid sample storage device

ABSTRACT

A liquid sample storage device which utilizes a liner-holder with a liner which may be disposed of after use, thereby eliminating contamination problems associated with reusable bottles. The liner-holder is a hollow, wedge shaped container with an upwardly extending neck section and vents on the top and bottom, as well as a plurality of vents on each of its sides, to allow adequate displacement of air from within the container as the liner fills with the liquid sample. Two embodiments utilize a liner-holder which may be opened into two sections along a vertical hinge to provide access to the interior for proper positioning and later removal of the liner. The liner is positioned within the liner-holder, secured at the neck, and then suspended within the liner-holder by snap-locks or a support hook to facilitate the input of the sample into the liner.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation-in-Part of application Ser. No.08/586,447, filed Jan. 16, 1996, now abandoned the disclosure of whichis hereby incorporated by reference.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

AUTHORIZATION PURSUANT TO 37 C.F.R. §1.71(d) (e)

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document, includingappendices, may contain material which is subject to copyrightprotection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimilereproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosureas it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records,but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to liquid sampler devices, and more particularlyto an improved liquid sample storage device which utilizes a disposableliner.

2. Description of the Related Art

Fluid sampling devices are well known in the art and are generallyutilized to obtain samples of wastewater, water from rivers or streams,or liquid effluent from commercial or manufacturing enterprises forsubsequent testing in order to determine the levels of variouspollutants. These devices generally function with timers and withdrawsamples periodically which are then deposited into sample storagedevices for subsequent transportation to a testing facility.

Most prior art sample storage devices are either glass or plasticbottles, which must be thoroughly washed after each collection toprevent contamination of subsequently collected samples. Glasscontainers are, of course, undesirable in that they are susceptible tobreakage. On the other hand, plastic containers are much more difficultto clean than are glass containers. U.S. Pat. No. 5,390,553, issued toLynn, attempts to resolve some of these difficulties by utilizing acontainer which holds a plastic bag therein. The container splits intoupper and lower sections for insertion of the bag, which is held inposition by a retainer ring around the neck section of the container. Asingle vent hole in the neck of the container is utilized to allowtrapped air to escape from the container as the bag fills with liquidsample.

Testing of the Lynn device, however, has demonstrated that its operationis less than satisfactory inasmuch as the single vent hole isinsufficient to allow the internal bag or liner to fill properly. As theliner fills, air becomes trapped in areas removed from the vent hole andprevents the bag from filling. Furthermore, the bag of Lynn is simplyplaced within the container with the neck of the bag folded down overthe neck of the container and provides no structure for suspending thebag in an open configuration to facilitate the deposit of fluid samplestherein.

Those concerned with these and other problems recognize the need for animproved fluid sample storage device.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a liquid sample storage device whichutilizes a liner-holder with a liner which may be disposed of after use,thereby eliminating contamination problems associated with reusablebottles. The liner-holder is a hollow, wedge shaped container with anupwardly extending neck section. The liner-holder has vents on the topand bottom, as well as a plurality of vents on each of its sides toallow adequate displacement of air from within the container as theliner fills with fluid. A first embodiment of the liner-holder may beopened into two sections along a vertical living hinge to provide accessto the interior for proper positioning and later removal of the liner.The liner is positioned within the liner-holder at three of its cornersby use of snap-lock tabs on the liner which engage snap-locks on theliner-holder. The remaining corner of the liner includes an elongateinlet neck which is folded down over the neck of the liner-holder andsecured by a retainer. A second embodiment of the invention isoriginally molded into an open configuration for economicconsiderations, but is then folded into a closed configuration along aseries of hinge straps and held closed by means of four bayonet clips.The liner is held in position within the liner-holder by securing aliner support tab to a support hook adjacent the upper vent hole of theliner-holder and by folding the neck of the liner down upon the neck ofthe liner-holder. A simplified third embodiment of the invention is nothinged as are the first two embodiments and requires insertion andremoval of the liner through the bottom of the liner-holder. In thisthird embodiment, the liner is held in place within the liner holder bya retainer and the support tab and hook of the second embodiment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other attributes of the invention will become more clear upona thorough study of the following description of the best mode forcarrying out the invention, particularly when reviewed in conjunctionwith the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the base of a standard sample collectiondevice containing a plurality of sample storage devices of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the sample storagedevice of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the first embodiment with the linerretainer and cap removed;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the first embodiment with theliner-holder in the open configuration and the disposable liner removed;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view through the neck of the first embodimentshowing the liner engaged by a snap-on retainer, and showing a snap-oncap;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view through a snap-lock of the liner-holder anddepicts its engagement with a liner snap-lock tab;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the invention,with the liner-holder in the open configuration;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the second embodiment with theliner-holder closed and containing a disposable liner; and

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of the invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals designateidentical or corresponding parts throughout the several views, FIG. 1depicts a typical liquid sample collection tray 8 containing a number ofsample storage devices 10 of the present invention. A first embodimentof the invention 10 is shown in FIG. 2, removed from the collection tray8 and with a cap 50 in place as would be necessary if the sample is tobe stored or transported within the storage device 10 as wouldordinarily be the case. In the alternative, the disposable liner 60 canbe removed from the liner-holder 12 and closed by heat sealing or atwist tie, leaving the liner-holder 12 available for immediate furtheruse.

Referring now to FIG. 4, the invention is shown with the liner-holder 12in the open configuration in preparation for receiving a liner 60. Theliner-holder 12, preferably fabricated from molded plastic, is a wedgeshaped, hollow container which is split along a central vertical planethrough the wedge, dividing it into two concave mirror image sectionsmovably connected to each other by a living hinge 14 formed during themolding process. Referring also to FIG. 3, in the closed configurationthe liner-holder 12 has a cylindrical neck section 16, and vents 18 inthe sides, a top vent 17, and bottom vent 19. The liner-holder 12further includes a snap-lock 20 at each of the corners opposing the necksection 16 which serve to retain the liner-holder 12 closed as well asto support the liner 60 as will be further described below. Across-sectional view of a snap-lock 20 is shown in FIG. 6 where it canbe seen to include a pair of raised beads 22 for mating with a pair ofopposing holes 24.

The liner 60 is preferably fabricated from thin polypropylene,polyethylene, or similar material, approximately 0.005 inches thick, andhas an expanded shape which conforms to the interior of a closedliner-holder 12. The liner 60 has an inlet neck 62 which conforms to theinterior of the neck section 16 of the liner-holder 12; however, theinlet neck 62 of the liner 60 is somewhat longer than the liner-holderneck section 16 so that it can be folded downwardly over the necksection 16 for securement thereto. The inlet neck 62 is shown in FIG. 3in dashed lines before folding and in solid lines after folding.Referring again to FIG. 4, the liner 60 is seen to include a snap-locktab 66 at each of its corners opposing the inlet neck 62. Thesesnap-lock tabs 66 conform to the snap-locks 20 of the liner-holder 12and provide a pair of holes 67 for engagement with the beads 22 of thesnap-locks 20 as seen best in FIG. 6.

The first embodiment further comprises an annular retainer 40 providedwith an interior annular bead 42 (FIG. 5) for engagement with an annulargroove 44 formed around the neck section 16 of the liner-holder 12. Asthe retainer 40 is pressed over the neck section 16 of the liner-holder12, it engages the downwardly folded neck 62 of the liner 60 to insurethat the liner 60 remains properly positioned within the liner-holder12. A cap 50 is also provided for securement upon the retainer 40 toseal the contents of the liner 60.

In operation, an empty liner-holder 12 is opened and a liner 60 isplaced against one of the sides of the liner-holder 12, with the linerneck 62 extending through the holder neck section 16. Each of the threeliner snap-lock tabs 66 are then placed against its counterpartsnap-lock 20 for engagement of the bead 22 with a tab hole 67. Theholder 12 is then closed with the snap-locks 20 engaging the linersnap-lock tabs 66. The liner neck 62 is then folded down over the holderneck section 16. A retainer 40 is then placed over the neck section 16,if necessary, to further support the liner 60 within the liner-holder12. When the sample container is filled, a cap 50 is secured over theretainer 40 for transportation, or the liner 60 may be removed from theliner-holder 12 and sealed for transportation, leaving the liner-holder12 for further use.

A second embodiment of the sample storage device is depicted in FIGS. 7and 8, and comprises a liner-holder 30 and disposable liner 32. Theliner-holder 30 is molded in the open configuration of FIG. 7, but isthen folded along hinge straps 34 into the wedge shaped, closedconfiguration of FIG. 8. The liner-holder 30 is held in the closedconfiguration by means of three bayonet clips 36 spaced along the narrowside of the wedge shaped liner-holder 30 and a fourth bayonet clip 36adjacent the neck section 16, each bayonet clip 36 including a bayonet37 and bayonet receiver 38. The liner-holder 30 further includes a linersupport hook 52 extending from the top of the liner-holder 30 andadjacent its upper vent hole 17. It is anticipated that the liner-holder30 of the second embodiment will generally be left in the closedconfiguration. In operation, the liner 32 would then be inserted througheither the top vent 17 or lower vent 19, with the liner neck 62 thenfolded down over the holder neck section 16 and the apertured supporttab 54 hooked over the support hook 52. After sample collection iscomplete, a cap 56 may be screwed onto the neck 16 for transportation ofthe sample.

A third embodiment of the invention is depicted in FIG. 9 which alsocomprises a wedge shaped holder 70 and liner 32. As is readily apparent,this embodiment is molded into a closed position and therefore requiresinsertion of the liner 32 through either the top vent 17 or bottom vent19 as is envisioned for the second embodiment. After the liner 32 isinserted into the liner-holder 70, it is suspended in place by attachingsupport tab 54 over support hook 52 and folding the liner neck section62 down over the holder neck section 16. A retainer 40 may be used asrequired and the neck section 16 may or may not be threaded, as desired.

Although three exemplary embodiments of the invention have beendescribed in detail above, those skilled in the art will readilyappreciate that many modifications are possible without materiallydeparting from the novel teachings and advantages of this invention.Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included withinthe scope of this invention as defined in the following claims.

In the claims, means-plus-function clauses are intended to cover thestructures described herein as performing the recited function and notonly structural equivalents but also equivalent structures. Thus,although a nail and a screw may not be structural equivalents in that anail employs a cylindrical surface to secure wooden parts together,whereas a screw employs a helical surface, in the environment offastening wooden parts, a nail and a screw may be equivalent structures.

What is claimed is:
 1. A liquid sample storage device, comprising:(a) agenerally rigid liner-holder having substantially vertical walls, a topand a bottom, said top having a neck forming an inlet into saidliner-holder; (b) a flexible liner removably contained within saidliner-holder and having an elongate neck for folding engagement oversaid liner-holder neck; and (c) means for suspending said liner withinsaid liner-holder and for facilitating the input of liquid samplestherein; wherein said suspending and input facilitating means comprisesa snap-lock tab extending from said liner for engagement with asnap-lock situated within a peripheral edge of said liner-holder.